The Vice or Virtue theme was explored on Thursday, May 9, during Avant Garde’s annual End of Year Show. Held in the DHS auditorium at 7:00p.m., dancers from throughout the DeLand High School Dance Department showcased a variety of repertoire.
Avant Garde members working in the dance studio.
The show contained work from guest artists and choreographers, as well as students. The repertoire included dances in jazz, hip hop, contemporary, modern, cultural, tap and ballet styles.
The show contained twenty-one dances, with twelve in the beginning half and nine in the second. During intermission, a ceremony was held for inductions into the National Honors Society of Dance Arts (NHSDA) and senior recognitions.
Admission to the show was $6, and children ten and under were free and faculty and staff were free with ID. Tickets could be purchased with cash or check at the door or from the dance teacher, Heather Gleason, in room 13-109 the week of the show.
To make the Vice or Virtue End of Year Show possible, lots of preparation must occur. Gleason heads the department and oversees all preparation. However, she is not alone. She has a village.
She receives most of her help from students who she either solicits due to injury or illness making them unable to perform, or who volunteer to assist in preparation. If they are injured, they work behind the scenes as assistant stage managers, commentators, backstage supervision, program design and costuming.
Students are given an assignment to create flyers promoting the show. She also receives help during the show from past students, her family and volunteers.
General preparation for the show has previously started in mid to late February. This year, as requested by students, preparation has been underway since January, immediately after winter break. However, plenty of students had inspiration after the winter show and began researching concepts and finding music long before the official start.
Most research was tied to the Vice or Virtue theme. Every year Gleason chooses a different theme for the End of Year Show. Last year the theme was Lost but Never Forgotten. To choose the theme, Gleason gets inspiration from research. Vice or Virtue came from a past theater theme.
For other themes she said she gets inspiration from “epiphanies, the theme DanceTube which was one of my personal favorites had a program made to look like a tv guide; colleagues who shared concert themes that worked well in their programs; and life events, like the development of the I-Pod which led to I-Dance. They really come from everywhere!”
Preparation looks different for each level and type of class in the department. For the dance tech one classes, being in the shows is not mandatory. They also do not have student repertoire, as it is the beginning class, and the classes are split throughout the day.
The tech one classes perform guest or teacher choreography and their performances make up two to three dances in the show. This year they are in two sections in the collage opener and one performance in the main sequence of the show.
Avant Garde (AG) hosts the spring End of Year Show, and their dances make up the majority. Usually, they have around ten dances in the show; this year there are twelve. Their repertoire is different than the rest of the department.
AG takes dances from other performances such as VCDPA or the Renaissance rally and utilizes them in the show. They also have student choreography that they work on in class or during their Monday practices. These dances are presented to the class just like in the fourth period tech class.
When it comes to student choreography, Avant Garde resembles the fourth period class. However, their scheduling is much different. In Avant Garde, they always have a variety of performances or projects they are working on at a time.
For student choreography, they must schedule time into their class period or once a week practice after school. Avant Garde is always on a much tighter time constraint than the rest of the program.
Avant Garde had four pieces set by guest choreographers, plus the opener which is a combination of shorter dances. The remaining six pieces were student choreography as well as the traditional AG senior dance.
The choreographers included Averie Cooke, D’Montrae Harris, Elliott Kelton with Jacqueline Lefils, Jessica Motzer and Anna Rickels. They also had a piece from their AG clinic workshop that is a collaboration between everyone on the team.
From January 3 through February 14, DHS Dance Department students from the fourth period, advanced tech class researched and worked on creating choreography. At this point in preparation, no one knew what student choreographies would make it into the show.
Usually, there are a few dances that are already set to be in the show. These are class choreographies or dances taught by guest choreographers.
The preparation is structured with each week being divided between student workdays and days in which the full class dances are taught. Every few weeks the class has a checkpoint in which students show their choreography to the class for critiques. There are two total, and every checkpoint is worth a grade and includes certain criteria that must be met.
The second checkpoint took place on February 14, and it functioned as the final showing of what the class has to offer. Then at the end of this showing the class took an anonymous vote as to which dances, they would like in the show. Each person got to vote on their favorite four, then Gleason collected the voting slips and tallied the votes.
The following few days Gleason collected any final votes by those who were absent during showings. Then at last she broke the suspense and announced the class repertoire. Before announcing the results to the class, she had to decide which dances contrast each other enough to be juxtaposed.
Once this was decided, Gleason created a calendar depicting what two dances will be taught each day. She posted this calendar on a mirror in the dance room, as well as sign up sheets for each dance. Students usually troubleshoot the calendars to ensure the week will flow smoothly and no choreographers have conflicting schedules.
The fourth period tech class has the full class opener set by a guest and a secondary choreography borrowed from CLI Studios. They also have a Martha Graham technique and Saw movie inspired piece created by Gleason, and a class piece choreographed by Ava Wilkins.
The student choreographers featured from fourth period included Kaitlyn Anderson, Shaniyah Anderson with Rayne Ellison-Reyes, Alexis Cunningham with Mckenna Pirollo, Shamaria Howell with Nadejah Mitchel, My’Kayla Jones with Azaria Smith and Kalista Wagers.
Aside from the dances and repertoire of the show itself, there are plenty of other tasks on the dance department’s to-do list. In preparation for the show, a PowerPoint Presentation featuring the dances in the show and the choreographers must be made.
This presentation is projected behind the stage before every performance, while the emcee or host of the show introduces the dance about to be performed. Another PowerPoint must also be made for before the show, with images from the show preparation.
Commentary is another task for both Gleason and the choreographers. Gleason composes a script for the emcee to introduce each dance, and the choreographers are responsible for writing and giving her their dance’s commentary. Choreographers are also responsible for supplying Gleason with their lighting, music and the cues. This will be used by the tech crew to run the show.
Gleason has other tasks she must do including ordering and picking up flowers for her seniors and NHSDA members, composing a cue sheet for tech, printing headshots, organizing costumes, editing music, putting the show music and PowerPoints on thumb drives, and so much more.
Other than the PowerPoint, lighting and commentary, the show’s structure and order must be formulated. Gleason takes every dance in the show and creates a first draft of the show’s numerical order based on the cast, feeling, length and strength of each piece. This order will see a multitude of changes as the preparation continues.
According to Gleason, there are many drafts, combined based on student feedback and costuming quick change issues. Gleason also says, “I try to keep different energy dances spaced out, so there aren’t a bunch of heavy pieces back-to-back. I also try to keep guest artists and groups that only perform in one piece, in the first part of the show prior to intermission. This allows dancers after performing, to head out if needed or join their friends and family to watch from the front.”
After Gleason has composed the initial show draft, with the help of students, she begins making a program. The program supplies the audience with the show’s order, the title of each piece, and the choreographer, music and cast for each dance.
Once the program is completed, it goes through multiple revisions, and is sent to copy center. Most of these tasks are divided among Gleason and the students who help her. Nothing is set in stone until a few days before the show, as changes can occur, or problems may arise last minute.
At the heart of the show and preparation, is what the department fondly calls Gleason’s Dance Bible. The Dance Bible is a purple binder filled with numbered dividers. It holds the information regarding every dance in the show and keeps the entire department on track and organized. Every dance has its own divider corresponding to where it falls in the show, and in this divider are the choreographer’s program notes, lighting, commentary and cast.
Another important part of preparation for the whole department, is to prepare the stage and lay the Marley floor. Usually this is done by a tech class at the start or before the department begins daily rehearsals in the auditorium.
The dancers must clean the stage, drag the marly panels out from backstage, line them all up, stomp any air bubbles out, then finally tape down the marly with marly tape. After the marley is down, the dancers must mark center stage with pink tape. From there the dancers can begin their rehearsal as the stage floor has now been prepared.
Gleason has a lot on her plate as the department’s show approaches. To manage her many responsibilities, she has methods to her madness… “to do lists... students... students helping me find my to do lists... and autopilot from experience. Believe it or not, I get less bent out of shape for mishaps that occur during a show than I used to.”
Gleason has plenty of experience with both being a part of and organizing dance performances. She has been organizing two dance productions per year for the dance department since she started teaching in 1999. She also sponsors the Avant Garde dance team to participate in different school events throughout the year.
Even with so much experience, sometimes Gleason must deal with challenges during show preparation. She finds that “sometimes keeping the peace amongst dancers and choreographers can be challenging. Emotions run at high levels, and dedication and commitment vary. It’s visible in attendance and the effort given in rehearsals.”
For Gleason, one of her least favorite things about the show is costuming. In the dance room there is a costume closet filled to the brim with costume options. For the Works in Progress show in the winter, the dancers wear all black.
However, for the End of Year show, Gleason must drag the costume racks and containers out of the costume room for all the choreographers in the department to go through. Once choreographers choose a costume for their dance, the casts must try everything on then hang it on the show’s rack with their name on it.
Once the show is over, Gleason must then collect the costumes. She brings all the department’s costumes that were used to her house to wash in her personal washer before returning them to their homes in the closet. She also must sort the costumes into their designated bins or racks before they can be put back.
She has a heavy role in making the production possible. As alumni, she remembers her time on the Avant Garde team and how the previous dance director ran the department during shows. “One of the things I cherished most as a team member, was the presence of student voice. The previous director, Janie Ryan, would set a few pieces of personal choreography used as full team repertoire for various school performances, but she also allowed for student choreography to be included in our bi-annual dance productions.”
Similarly, Gleason gives her students creative freedom during the shows and encourages input from her dancers. According to Gleason, “my role each year is to throw out some concert theme ideas to my students and together we narrow it down to the end of year theme. Choreography assignments are given to guide students towards the theme. Then their dances are presented in front of class.”
“The class provides feedback on the first showings, and they ask questions about the intent or movement choices if it’s unclear. They then vote to select their top pieces for our Winter works-in-progress and End of Year Spring Concert. I work with the lighting designer to make sure lighting cues are programmed to align with students’ requests.”
Regardless of the challenges and heavy responsibilities she may face during shows, Gleason manages to maintain a strong, energetic and positive mindset through preparation. She enjoys “seeing all the hard work, blood, sweat and tears come together on performance night.”
No matter how terrible preparation may be, she is always encouraging and believes that all the efforts of the department will pay off in the performance.
For the students, maintaining a positive mindset revolving the show isn’t always the easiest. Gleason is constantly encouraging her dancers and choreographers as preparation pursues. She also reminds the department, “we only have one show... one shot to get it done, one opportunity for friends and family to come cheer us on, and one opportunity to put our best out there and make all the unexpected moments part of the dance.”
Gleason keeps the dance department grounded for months surrounding the show. She may argue that she loses more of her sanity as the department nears show, and her students wouldn’t disagree. However, the department, Avant Garde and her students are all grateful and appreciative of her, and the time and energy she puts into providing the department with a show.
The week of show is very busy for the department. On Monday, Avant Garde has their weekly practice in the form of a spacing rehearsal in the auditorium. Gleason also has to check on the flower order for her seniors and NHSDA members.
Tuesday, fourth period tech students have their spacing rehearsal. Both rehearsals start immediately after school with AG’s ending at 7p.m. and fourth period’s at around the same time. During spacing rehearsals, the tech crew on lighting and music begin their preparation, working to set everything up.
The day before show, on Wednesday, the entire department has dress rehearsal. This begins between 2:30 and 2:45. Gleason aims to run the entire show twice through with full cast, staging, tech and costumes.
During these runs, Gleason, choreographers and the tech crew fix any discrepancies within the show. For dress rehearsal the dancers believe the superstition that “a bad dress rehearsal means a good show.”
After dress rehearsal, if the choreographers need anything changed, they communicate it with Gleason. By this time, programing for the lighting, music, computer and flash drives has been completed. Later that night, the drafts of the program and PowerPoint go through a final revision, so they are set and ready for the show the next day.
The next day, the department runs full repertoire one last time during their classes. Then after school, Gleason runs a plethora of personal and show related errands for any last-minute necessities. When she returns around 5:00 to 5:30p.m., her dancers and volunteers begin setting up concessions and tickets, as well as folding programs and bringing costumes and supplies to the auditorium.
Before the house opens at 6:30p.m., the dancers have a small ritual to celebrate all the work that has gone into this moment. It’s called the Inspiration Circle. Led by Gleason, all the dancers hold hands to form a large circle on the stage.
Gleason gives a positive motivational speech and thanks everyone for their hard work and commitment. To finish the pre-performance ritual, the dancers put their right foot in a tendu towards the center of the circle then throw their arms up saying a final word of good luck before the show begins…Merde!
Photos courtesy of Dance Department
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